Convertible vehicle-body.



W. B. WEST CONVERTIBLE VEHICLE BODY.

APPLICATION FILED JAN22, .915.

Patented Feb. .1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Ill 1 H HHQ II] I INVENTOR lllTNESSES W. B. WEST.- CONVERTIBLE VEHICLE BODY. APPLICAHON map 1 u,22. 1915.

Patented Feb. 8, 1916.

2 SHEETS SHEET 2.

INVENTOR WITNESSES n snares PATENT anion W ILLIAM B. WEST, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CONVERTIBLE VEHICLE- BODY.

'10 a body; for a vehicle, such as an automobile,

having, in addition to the usual seat, a concealed rear seat the back portion of which a is so arranged and combined with the body that when the seat is not in use and the back 1's in closed position said seat is completely concealed and is not apparent to an observer 01 the vehicle, the upper edges in the top of A the body in-rear of the front seat being ininclined-upwardly and forwardly as usual in aog thetype of car shown.

-1;; lie-still further object is to so. construct mi the-seat that the back portion thereof and i a part flexibly connected thereto constitutea part of the body when the seat is in colwlapsed position.

Another object of my invention is to so construct and relate the parts of the body which are associated with and form part of f the seat structure to other parts or" the body 3orstructure that when they are in such relaf tion to each other that the presence of the seat; is concealed a water tight closure between the adjoining parts is formed.

Otherobjects and advantages of my innvention will be referred to in the detailed mdescription thereof which follows or Wlll' apparent therefrom. in "order that my invention may be more readily comprehended and understood ref- 0 erencc should be had to the accompanying drawings in which I have illustrated convenient and preferred forms of embodiment thereof, but it will be understood. that changes in the details of construction may -15 be made within the scope of the claim without departing from my invention.

In the drawings :--Figure 1 is a top plan view of an automobile aving a body providcd with my invention; Fig. 2 is a side so elevation of the some, a portion being broken away to show in section detail of construction; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the rear pnrtoi' the automobile with the back of the seat in raised position; and Fig. i is a pers-pec'tive, view of a portion of an automobile Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 8, 1916.

Application fiIed January 22, 1915. Serial No. 3,681.

illustrating a modified construction embodying my invention.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the wheels of an autom ole and 2 the side members of the chassis or under framefor supporting the body 3 and other parts of the car. The body 3 is provided with the usual seat 1 occupied by the operator who controls the car through the steering wheel 5. In rear of the seat 1 I have provided a seat 7 which normally, or when not in use, is concealed by the top part of the body of the car in rear of the backportion of the seat 4;. The portions 8 and 9 of the top of the car body are flexibly connected to each 7 1 other by a hinge connection 10. The portion 8 is flexibly connected at its rear edge by a hinge connection 11 to the stationary part of the top-of the car body in general alinement with the rear edge of the seat 7 Nor- 7 mally or when not in use the parts 8 and 9 occupy the position shown in Fig. '1 and in full lines in Fig. 2 in which position the presence of the seat 7 is not apparent to an observer of the car. 30

When the parts 8 and 9 are lifted up and folded back into the positions in which they are illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 2 of the drawings the part 8 constitutes the back of the seat against which a person using the seat rests. The said'portions are held in' raised position by means of the toggle levers 12. The portion 9 is turned about its hinge connection 10 so that the top surface thereof faces forward and rests against the top side ot' the part 8 which faces to the rear when the same is in raised position as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

The sides of the car are provided with doors one of which is shown at 15 in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The pivoted and 'flexibly connected parts 8 and 9 of the drawings are provided with downwardly extending flange-like parts on their opposite Side edges as indicated at 16 and 17 These downwardly extending flange-like portions it against the top edges of the portions 18 of the sides of the car and also the top edges of the doors 1.5 (one on each side of the car). In order to insure a water-tight joint between these downwardly extending flange-likeportions 16 and 17 and the abutting edges of the side portions 18 of the body of car and of the doors 15 I have provided a narrow extension 20 along the 1 0 2 I 1,17o,fr1a

lower edges of the flange-like extensions 16 and 17 of the parts 8 and 9. This exten sion overlaps the upper edges of the side portions 18 of the body of the car and the doors 15. Extending across the top of the body of the car and adjacent to the front edge of the opening which" is normally closed bythe parts 8 and 9 I have provided a ridge or bead over which a grooved ex .tension 22 on the forward edge of thepart 9 is adapted to fit when the latter is in 'losed' position. It will thus be seen thatwhen the parts 8 and 9 are in closed position, the doors 15 being also .closed,.the intenor of the rear portion of the car within which the seat 7 is situated is entirely pro- .tected against water, dust, etc.

It-- may be noted that the flan e-like parts 16 and 17 appear as though they were continuations of the opposite side portions 18. of the body of-the car and of the doors.l5 I

so that when the portions 8 and 9 are in flange portions at the opposite ends of the seat which serve as supports for one side or the other of the person using the seat 7.

A seat having such a back is very restful and therefore very desirable.

' In Fig. 4 of the drawings I.-have shown a modified construction in which parts 8' and 9' are not provided with extensions 16 and 17 as in Fig. 2. In the construction shown in said Fig. 4 I have provided extensions indicated at 25 and 26 upon the upper edge portions 27 of the car body and ofthe doors 28. The upper sides of these extensions 25 and 26 are provided with ridges or beads 30 and 31 which extend along the edges, which ridges or beads are adapted to project int; grooved extending parts 32 and 33 upon the opposite edges of the hinged and flexibly connected parts 8' -and 9. The forward edge of the part 9' is 'members 8, 9, 8

also provided with a grooved extended part 34 which is adapted to fit'up'on and over a ridge or bead-like projection 36 which is provided along the top of the car body at the front edgeof t closed by the-parts -8, and 9; It is apparent, that when the'doo'rs 28 are closed and the parts 8 and 9 'arein closed posiopening which i is tion the seat 7 is completely and thoroughly Y protected from water, dust, etc. f

The part 8 is held upnght in position to be usedas the back part of the seat 7 by means of the toggle levers 1-2. 1

In both forms of cbnstriictionthe hinged operate with the side portions and doors of the body of the car'sol as to give the appearance of a continuous body structure.

The result is that a neat and sightly appearance is presented which is a very mportant feature and factor in the construction of vehicle bodies, particularly those for auto-- mobiles. r

I claim A vehicle body having an opening in the top of its rear portion, absent 'situatedin the rear part ofsaid lopen'mg, openings in the sides of the said body in front of said seat, .horizontallyswinging doors for 0165- ing said openings, flexibly connected parts for opening and closing the opening in the top ofthe automobile body, one of the said parts having hinged connection with the rear edge ofthe opening in the-too of said body, and constituting the back of the Seat when in open position, means for holding the said part in open position, and the opposite ends of the part constituting theback when in raised position contacting with the opposite side edges of the opening in the top oi the body when in closed posi-.

tionand the opposite ends of the other memher when in closed. position engaging the upper edges of the doors for closing the side opening.

' In testimonythat I claim the foregoing as my invention I have hereunto-signed my name this 19th day-of January, D. 1915.

WILLIAMB. WEST.

In the presence 'of- C. E. Knnmrnnnnn,

C. H. WISSMANN. 

